Amethyst Acres R Zorro *B
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DOB: May 7, 2018
Black with Moonspots Dam: SG NC Promisedland SIA Zephyr 3*M 6*D USDA Elite Doe (99th percentile) She is 2nd highest PTA Milk of +182 on the 2017 Elite Doe List. DSi: NC PromisedLand SS Sam I Am ++*B *S DD: SG PromisedLand BW Zippy 2*M 5*D VEEE90 (99th Percentile) SG PromisedLand BW Zippy is 2nd highest all-time rated for (PTA) Milk +220 with the best Reliability (REL) 72% of any Nigerian doe ever! Sire: Cedar View Romeo *B SS: Little Tots Estate Bambino +*B SD: SG Cori's Fancy N Delmina 3*M VEEV 88 The ZORRO kids produced in 2019 will all be LINEBRED. What does that mean to you as a potential purchaser? “One who wants to make and keep his herd far different from the average of the breed to which it belongs must put some kind of pedigree barrier between it and the rest of the breed, so that the differences continually being produced as successive sires are used will tend to accumulate and not be halved with each successive sire.” Jay L. Lush, Animal Breeding Plans (quoted from Secrets of the Great Animal Breeders, by D.D. Kowalski) “Anyone who will take the trouble to study the pedigrees of famous families in almost line of stock breeding will find that the foundation blood is most intensely bred. Indeed, the practical breeder working with material that is really of distinctive and peculiar merit comes soon to the point at which close breeding is inevitable, and he must face the issue sooner or later if he is to make any use of his valuable creations. To breed them out is but to dissipate their excellence, and the only practical course is close breeding.” Eugene Davenport, Principles of Breeding (quoted from Secrets of the Great Animal Breeders, by D.D. Kowalski) If you are diligently doing your homework when looking for a new herdsire or foundation doe, the following information could help you. In late 2007, we purchased the littermate of the now-famous NC Promisedland Zena (16x on the Elite Doe list). Her name was Zesta and she became, in her short life, the clear foundation of our herd. Before we lost her at a young age, she gave us sons Zebra, Zen and Ziggzag, all of which have produced outstanding does for type and production. This “Z Family” of does started at Promisedland with Zippy. Among others, she produced littermates Zena and Zesta, then the full sister Zephyr. All have become famous for both high milk production and large teats with super medial suspensory ligaments producing deep clefts in the udder floor. Our efforts to linebreed to the Z sisters (starting with Zesta) have paid dividends (and we expect even more improvements with our new son of Zephyr; the moon-spotted Zorro). We recently restarted the herd with three mature does linear appraised in May 2018 and all bred closely to Zesta. First is the last daughter of Zesta named Zinnzia – VG 89 (VEEE). We also have the best daughter of Zesta’s son Zebra; her name is Candee – EX 90 (VEEE). Candee’s daughter (linebred to Zesta) topped the group; Earthshine was EX 91 (VEEE). Her sire was the littermate brother of Zinnzia, the Zesta son named Ziggzag. He was twice linear appraised EX90. Dare we say that when three does score this high and they are that closely related, it is no accident. In fact, when Candee was appraised as a two-year-old by John White, she was one point lower overall than one sister and two points lower than the third triplet in the litter. He commented that it is rare to see full sisters with scores that close together. When we discovered that Amethyst Acres had purchased the key Elite Promisedland does from Willow Moon, we turned to owner Curtis Gerry for a new junior herdsire. He is Amethyst Acres R Zorro. Zephyr, the younger full sister of Zena and Zesta, produced Zorro in May 2018. Unfortunately, at 10 years of age, she was lost about three months after kidding. So this last son of Zephyr will be used heavily in the fall of 2018 to linebreed to the Z Sisters Zesta and Zephyr. As you look at the following photos of key members of the “Z Family,” we hope you will realize you are looking at a unique gene pool in the breed. Unfortunately, tiny teats and flat udder floors are very strongly established in the breed. The late Keith Harrell of Promisedland (an official ADGA judge) saw that problem and decided to do something about it. We saw what Keith was doing and realized its significance. Our purchase of Zesta showed us that you have to search for specific traits to combat what is all too common in the breed, then fight the genetic “pull” back to the average of the breed that you typically get with random crossbreeding. We are now establishing a pedigree barrier between these Z Family sisters and the rest of the breed. Linebreeding and strict selection is the only sure, proven way to do that. If you doubt that, we challenge you to find a herd where the son of their best doe is even being used, let alone mated to relatives. Or where the best doe has a daughter that is her equal or better. You will typically find unrelated does mated to unrelated bucks. Kids are being multiplied from these “alphabet soup” matings just to sell. Where’s the breed improvement? Where’s your chance of getting something equal to or better than either parent? Take a look at this documentation. Here, (as of 2018), are the top five does (All-time) for Predicted Transmitting Ability Milk (PTAM) in the breed. 1. NC Promisedland MG Diva (270+). Diva is the granddam of our senior herdsire Your Decision and also the full sister of NC Promisedland MG Beau (famous milk-producing sire). She classified EX90 and had this lactation beginning at 6:02 – 305 1940 107 (5.5%) 71 (3.7%). She was clearly the Breed Leader for milk (but didn’t qualify because she was ½ inch too tall). Zorro will be bred to young daughters of Your Decision. 2. NC Promisedland SIA Zena 3*M 6*D (249+). She is a USDA Elite Doe (99th percentile) and was on the Elite Doe List a record 16x (2011 – 2017). She is the littermate sister of Zesta and the dam of Zuzanna. Also the full aunt of Zorro. 3. NC Promisedland BW Zippy 2*M 5*D (244+). Zippy was the dam of Zena, Zesta and Zephyr. That makes her the granddam of Zorro and our VG89 doe Zinnzia. Zippy classified EX90 (VEEE). She also has the 2nd highest reliability (REL) for milk in the breed (73%). One knowledgeable, long-time breeder declared she considered Zippy to have the best-ever udder in the breed. Bottom line is that whether a doe was classified (in the old days) or has more recently been linear appraised at EX90 or higher, you’re looking at an animal that an expert has certified for type (including production as exemplified in an outstanding, capacious mammary system) as among the best in the breed. 4. Sugar Moon V Zuzanna 4*M (240+). For her 2017 lactation, Zuzanna is in the ADGA Top ten list with these totals … 305 1720 90 (5.2%) 61 (3.5%). That puts her at #2 for milk production, #10 for butterfat and #7 for protein. She is a daughter of Zena, niece of Zephyr and Zesta, and the first cousin of Zorro. She is one of only five does to ever milk 1,700 lbs in 305 days. According to Curtis Jerry at Amethyst Acres, her first three tests for 2018 were 9#, 8# and 7.7# - putting her ahead of her 2017 totals. 5. NC Promisedland SIA Zephyr 3*M 6*D (210+). As a three-year-old in 2011, Zephyr linear appraised EX90 (VEEE). She is #1 on the 2018 USDA Elite Doe List (99th percentile). She also has the 2nd highest PTAM on that list. So this “Z Family” has four of the top five does on the all-time PTAM list. That’s what we call true breed leadership and depth of pedigree for production. That’s not chance and dumb luck! Now take a look at these family photos to see if you want to get on the “Z Track.” You don’t get animals like this by just hoping and then randomly breeding the same old tiny-teats, flat-udder-floor genetics that still plague the breed. Reserve a Zorro linebred buck or doe to get a start on correct type, high milk production with large, milkable teats, very correct medial suspensory ligaments and long lactations. And Zorro is a real eater, (just like his penmate Classical, Candee’s very linebred son) a key factor since does that are not big eaters are not top milkers. |
Zorro at 14 months old
Zorro at 14 months old
Zorro at 14 months old
Zorro at four months. Wide in the ribs, correct feet and legs, excellent width of rump from thurl to thurl and a very desirable flatter rump from hips to pins, especially seen on the move here. Mated to our senior does, the best descendants of Zesta, we expect body length, smoothness of blending, dairyness and power without being beefy, the high rear udders and strong fore udders we have selected for, plus the milk that has made this family the best in the breed.
Zorro (left side) at four months shows correct withers, correct rear angulation from the side, very good rump length and a gradually deepening body from brisket to rear.
We thank Dynamo Farm USA and Curtis Jerry at Amethyst Acres for making several of these photos available to us. We invite you to more fully research the animals at Cedar View and Amethyst Acres.
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Zorro as kid at Amethyst Acres
6 months old with fuzzy winter coat
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Zorro as kid at Amethyst Acres
Zorro as kid at Amethyst Acres
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